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Anyone travelling into and through Manchester on Northern and TransPennine services should check before they travel.

There will then be work to install piles in the ground but this will not impact on the railway. This is due to begin at the end of January.

Work will start in earnest in March 2016, when tracks will be moved and realigned, and layout altered so the chord can be ‘slotted in’. The completion date is December 2017 when passengers should be able to use the new route.

A Network Rail spokeswoman said: “We will be working with our train operating partners to advise passengers on any disruptive work.

In pictures: The Ordsall Chord

“Once the much needed Ordsall Chord is complete, it will benefit millions of people in the north of England, opening up new direct rail links and supporting the delivery of faster more frequent rail services.”

The track which gave access from the mainline into the Museum of Science and Industry has now been removed.

Preparatory work began last year, when around 100 engineers moved on to the site for a weekend.

Network Rail has also confirmed that around £50,000 of taxpayer cash was spent defending a judicial review of the improvements, brought to court by engineer Mark Whitby.

Mr Whitby was refused the right to appeal by a High Court judge - but he is now applying to appeal that decision in the hope that he can then launch a fresh appeal over the Secretary of State’s decision to give it the green light.